Buying Gun's Online, shipping to King County

Bellehood · Jan 7, 2011

Up to this point, I have purchased all of my firearms at the WAC shows, but I now find myself looking at ordering a gun or 2 from Budsgunshop.com, their prices are just too low, and they all seem to ship free.

My question for all of you is two-fold;
1. What other expenses should I expect to incur? I know I have to have it shipped to a FFL, and will have to pay a transfer fee to the shop, but are their any other taxes/fees/blah blah blah related to gun purchases?

2. What FFL should I have it shipped to? I live in Bellevue, WA, so really anywhere in King County is fine. The only gun shop that I have really been to is Wade's, and their FFL transfer policy confuses me a bit; <broken link removed> . If I am ordering a common gun that they have in store, but is MUCH cheaper through Bud's, will I have to pay that +10% of retail value? Thats seems like BS to me.

Thanks guy!

hapuna · Jan 7, 2011

You need to find an FFL that has fees/service that you are happy with. The State of WA now requires them to collect the equivalent of sales(use) tax. I think that might be the 10% issue you are not happy with. So the transfer fee and the use tax should be it.

Bellehood · Jan 7, 2011

this is what Wades website says regarding FFL transfer:

"$49.99 transfer fee per firearm. This includes firearms that are not currently in stock or readily ordered by Wade's Eastside Gunshop. Custom, heirloom, and pre-owned firearms fall within this category. To avoid additional charges, invoices for the firearm and shipping costs are required by the customer or transferor.

OR

__________$49.99 transfer fee with a 10% fee based on our retail price of the firearm. (Example: A firearm costs $999.99. The transfer fee would be $49.99 + $99.99 for a total of $149.98."

its the second part that I don't totally understand

NuthinFancy · Jan 7, 2011

Here are some FFL's around Bellevue

GunBroker.com - Search for FFL

No matter who you choose, you have to pay the transfer fee to the FFL plus WA tax on the cost of the firearm plus shipping. You have to give the FFL a copy of your invoice for the firearm, or the FFL will have to determine the market value to calculate the tax.

B-Towner · Jan 7, 2011

I was lucky enough to be the first person to pay sales tax on a firearm shipped to my local FFL. Brings tears to my eyes even now just to think about it.

hapuna · Jan 7, 2011

Bellehood said:
this is what Wades website says regarding FFL transfer:

__________$49.99 transfer fee with a 10% fee based on our retail price of the firearm. (Example: A firearm costs $999.99. The transfer fee would be $49.99 + $99.99 for a total of $149.98."

its the second part that I don't totally understand

The 99.99 is the state tax and this is being enforced rigorously. The 49.99 on the other hand is quite high for a transfer.

Nwcid · Jan 7, 2011

hapuna said:
The 99.99 is the state tax and this is being enforced rigorously. The 49.99 on the other hand is quite high for a transfer.

I disagree. That sounds to me like any gun that is a new gun, ie they can order, they want 10% of on top of the transfer fee AND tax. The ad says 10% on THEIR price not the price you paid for the gun. Also sales tax is NOT 10% and if they are collecting 10% as a tax and not sending all 10% in as tax I believe that is going to be some kind of tax fraud.

I have a local shop that charge $30 transfers on guns they can not get and $50 for ones they can order. I can live with that.

hapuna · Jan 7, 2011

Nwcid said:
I disagree. That sounds to me like any gun that is a new gun, ie they can order, they want 10% of on top of the transfer fee AND tax. The ad says 10% on THEIR price not the price you paid for the gun. Also sales tax is NOT 10% and if they are collecting 10% as a tax and not sending all 10% in as tax I believe that is going to be some kind of tax fraud.

I have a local shop that charge $30 transfers on guns they can not get and $50 for ones they can order. I can live with that.

If its not the tax then it really is a ripoff! Do you not collect the state sales(use) tax on a transfer??

Bellehood · Jan 7, 2011

Nwcid said:
I disagree. That sounds to me like any gun that is a new gun, ie they can order, they want 10% of on top of the transfer fee AND tax. The ad says 10% on THEIR price not the price you paid for the gun. Also sales tax is NOT 10% and if they are collecting 10% as a tax and not sending all 10% in as tax I believe that is going to be some kind of tax fraud.

I have a local shop that charge $30 transfers on guns they can not get and $50 for ones they can order. I can live with that.

that was my interpretation of it as well, which is why I was confused, it seems like a GIANT ripoff...

Binder · Jan 8, 2011

Bellehood said:
that was my interpretation of it as well, which is why I was confused, it seems like a GIANT ripoff...

I don't think it's a ripoff but it's probably not a good deal for you. Wades is in business to make a profit from the guns they sell. They would never sell guns and make money if you could just go to their shop and use their FFL service to order the same gun that's in the case for less money.

Nwcid · Jan 8, 2011

hapuna said:
If its not the tax then it really is a ripoff! Do you not collect the state sales(use) tax on a transfer??

I would not use them either. It is only a "ripoff" if you CHOOSE to use them. If you chose to use them knowing up front the cost, that is not a "ripoff". Not defending them, just saying.

The point is that they dont want to be in competition online sales for guns they can get. Does this actually make that happen, no, it makes customers go elsewhere. It is their business and they can run it any way they choose.

I am not sure why you ask if I collect sales tax. The answer is no since I have no reason to. I buy guns not sell them

As for paying sales tax on the 2 transfers I did last month one shop did and one didnt. I was not aware that the one was going to until AFTER I went to pick up the gun

That shop in the past has been very fair to me in the past and I know it is not their fault.

Unicorn · Feb 2, 2011

Wade's and some other places charge a percentage of the price of the firearm if it's one they have or can get. So their transfer fee, plus their upcharge, then the use tax. The upcharge is basically an incentive for you to buy from them instead of finding it cheaper elsewhere. You could search for other gun shops and even pawn shops in your area, or be willing to drive a bit for a cheaper price.

The use tax isn't new, but has only been enforced on guns in the past year. EVERYTHING we buy in Washington we're supposed to pay a use tax on if we didn't pay a sales tax. If we go to Oregon to buy a TV and couch we are supposed to fill out a form and pay our use tax. Until recently the only thing that was enforced was vehicles because it was easy to track at the time of registration. Somebody realized that gun stores have to keep records of transactions and could be forced to charge and pay the use tax as well.